


Sleeping With One Eye Opened

by Storine



Series: Making the World Blind [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Darcy is freaking out, Darcy swears a lot, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff, Loki Needs a Hug, Post-Thor (2011), Pre-Avengers (2012), Slow Burn, cabin in the woods, tasertricks - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-18
Packaged: 2018-05-20 07:58:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5997886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storine/pseuds/Storine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Thor, pre-Avengers. Canon divergence.</p><p>Darcy Lewis knew something about her life: it always gets worse before it gets better. And the worst it can be, the better it will turn out. That’s a fact. However, being stuck with a powerful god in the middle of nowhere might not turn out in a good way - unless being dead is considered good.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Darcy Lewis had always considered herself lucky – in an unlikely way.

Yeah, her school trip had been cancelled in first grade, but a fire had started in the school’s kitchen during the day. She got to see firemen up close and stay home for a whole week, watching cartoons

She stained her white pants when she got her periods for the first time (she _never_ wore those freaking pants, but she _had to_ on that day, right). However, an oldest girl had lent her a hoodie to tie around her hips for the rest of the day _and_ her mom got her out to celebrate her “entering her womanhood”. Yeah, the speech kinda sucked, but they did get out on a week day to eat nachos. Lots and loooots of nachos.

In high school, her prom date had ditched her at the last minute, so she had to go by herself. What turned out to be a sucky night ended as a great one – that cute international student (he was from Finland, or Sweden, she couldn’t quite remember) had been just as alone. Let’s just say the night had been memorable for them, and the fact that he was heading back to his home country had made the whole experience even more exciting.

And there had been this internship with Dr. Foster – Jane, dear Jane, and sweet Erik. She was really pissed once she got the rejection letters from all those fancy places her friends applied to – real, actual, _related_ internships to their field of study. And there she was, stuck in a small New Mexico city, trying to get by in this stupid hell of a desert, not understanding shit (let’s be honest) to whatever gibberish her mentor was talking about all day long. And then, a weirdo fell from the sky (bad), she got to use her teaser on him (kinda scary, kinda fun), her iPod was stolen (the worst _ever_ ), and they almost all died (okay, maybe _that_ was the scariest and worst ever). But from all that, they still got to hang out with gods (interesting), see a shirtless Thor ( _dayuuuum fine_ ), and shit exploding everywhere (just like in a Michael Bay movie, but in a good way). That guy Phil even gave her back her precious iPod, unharmed and safe, like nothing happened. And Jane couldn’t bear to let her go after all this, so they managed something with her university for more credits. Darcy insisted Jane didn’t want to let her go because she was the _best intern ever_ , but the scientist rebuffed this by simply explaining that she didn’t want to have to explain to someone else that aliens were actually real. Pff. She could lie all she wanted, but Darcy did make the best coffee ever (okay, more actually, she could find the best places to _buy_ coffee, but that’s practically the same).

In brief, Darcy Lewis knew something about her life: it always gets worse before it gets better. And the _worst_ it can be, the _better_ it will turn out. That’s a fact.

But at the moment, as she felt a pair of green, sparkling eyes falling on her, she doubted her life motto. She doubted it _a lot_.

What good could turn out of being killed, anyways?


	2. First contact

Darcy was tired as shit. She had been driving for hours and seriously needed to reach that _goddamn_ cabin lost in the _goddamn_ woods as soon as _goddamn_ possible, or she was going to wreck that _goddamn_ rental car into a _goddamn_ tree. And all of that was probably due to the _GODDAMN FREAKING_ snow.

Yeah, Darcy was pissed.

Thor had left only three days ago, but Jane hadn’t lost any time: she had worked all day and all night long, redoing calculations over calculations. Darcy had grew tired of seeing her friend work like that, but had tried to help as best as she could, running the coffee machine until it practically exploded into her hands. Then, last night, Jane had come to the conclusion that they all needed to move from New Mexico to motherfreaking British Columbia. Darcy had laughed her ass off at that comment.

Laugh which hadn’t last long.

So Darcy had left first, being ask to get the place (a cabin lost in the deepest, most Canadian woods ever, of course) ready for them. Erik wouldn’t follow, having been personally contacted by S.H.I.E.L.D. to help them regarding the matter. Well, that’s what Darcy had concluded, because let’s be honest: they had simply talked about some classified work. As long as it didn’t involve any iPod stealing, Darcy was fine with whatever work they wanted done. Especially if it didn’t involve her.

So, as Darcy had been driving from Vancouver for the past six hours, after a painfully long flight, Jane was collecting her material and preparing to leave for an even longer trip. Yeah, the scientist was going to come by car the whole freaking way. Darcy had called her crazy, but Jane had refused to listen to her. Well, too bad for her. Darcy would organize the shit out of the cabin, then spend a couple of days marathoning a Netflix show while eating lots of flavoured popcorn and M&Ms. Could be worst.

Darcy finally turned on the shadowy road that would lead her to the cabin. According to the bored girl at the Tim Horton’s where she stopped a while ago (for directions and coffee and some Timbits, because _why not_ she was in Canada, she had to), Darcy couldn’t miss the cabin, for it was the only thing at the other side. It had a certain reputation around for being haunted, so everyone knew about it. Still, Darcy would have had preferred the girl to omit that “haunted” part. She didn’t need to have nightmares on her first night there.

She had been singing along to _Rolling in the Deep_ (okay, more like bursting her lungs out) when a sudden flash of light blinded her for a second. Darcy immediately slammed on the breaks and stopped her Adele’s imitation. Her breath got caught into her chest as she remembered the night Thor arrived on Earth. A couple of feet ahead, there was a body lying in the snow, body which hadn’t been there a second ago.

Jane had been right: Thor was back. Back in _freaking_ Canada.

Darcy let the motor running and got off the car, calling the name of her new friend over and over again, but no response came from the form ahead. Darcy got on her knees and turned the person on its back.

It wasn’t Thor.

Furrowing her brows, Darcy stayed speechless in front of the unknown man for five seconds before finally deciding to react: she poked him under his chin, one of the rare places where skin was exposed. He didn’t react.

“Hum… Dude? Are you, like, alive?” she asked.

All she could hear was the motor behind her.

Darcy shook the guy, and then checked for his vital signs. Okay, she didn’t really know what she was doing, but she had watched enough movies to know what to look for. Darcy came to a conclusion that wasn’t really nice: the man was dead. Or, more like, almost dead. Dying. Yeah, something like that. No heartbeat, no breathing.

“ _Fuck_ ”, she said in a rather expressive manner.

She had to act quickly. What did they always say about CPR on shows? Something about cracked ribs being good? What did that even mean? And why hadn’t she registered for that freaking First Aid class when her roommates had, last year?

(To be honest, she never expected to be stuck in the kind of situation where she had to CPR an alien back to life – because that dude was certainly an alien, with those freaking cheekbones and –)

Darcy shook herself back to reality and moved. She removed the man’s helmet to adjust his head and tried to free him of a couple of layers – his clothes were so heavy she doubted she could give a proper reanimation massage with these in the way.

“Why is this shit happening to me? Fuuuuuuck.”

Darcy put her hands on his chest and started to massage his heart. Well, from another perspective, one might say that she was trying to pierce his chest like a fucking Xenomorph.

“Wake up! You. Better. Wake. Up. Right. Now!”

Then, Darcy pinched his nose and pressed her lips on his, trying to give him some air. When nothing happened, she did it all again. When their mouths were sealed for the third time, the man literally chocked and opened his eyes, gasping for air.

Darcy fell backward, on her butt, and erupted into a nervous laugh.

“You _fucker_ , you scared me to death!” she managed to say, hands shaking, trying to get her phone out of her coat’s pocket. No service. Of course.  Putting it back in her coat, she returned to her kneeling position.

“Can you talk? Can you stand up? I guess I –”

His hand shot up suddenly and got around her neck. Darcy squeaked before being thrown into her back, on the hood of her car. The man moved upon her, showing his teeth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there.  
> Had this in mind for a loooong time. I decided to write it down, now that I have some time off (reading week yeaaaah). I'm a big Tasertricks shipper, and I've read lots and lots of works on AO3 about that ship.  
> I will try to update this fic daily, but I cannot promise anything. I tend to be veryyy passionate, and then, forget why I was writing something in the first place.  
> Hopefully, this fic will be the first part of a series, but that is not certain (yet).  
> Also, English is my second language. This work also serves as a good practice for me. It doesn't have a beta, soooo... I apologize for any mistakes.  
> Thanks for the first comments, I'm super excited :D hope you guys enjoy :)


	3. Smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Darcy calls Loki "dude" a lot because  
> a) She doesn't know his name and  
> b) She totally can, so why not?

Darcy was freaking out.

Technically, she could still breathe, but being incapacitated by the throat was not a pleasant feeling. Tears blinded her as she kicked the man and wiggled, trying to get away, but nothing worked. For a second, she really thought this was the end.

Then, the pressure on her neck disappeared. Sitting up, Darcy coughed while grasping for her taser… which obviously wasn’t attached to her hip.

_Fucking stupid Canadian laws. Had to leave it at the border._

Before Darcy could move again (and get into her car and _the fuck away from this place_ ), the man cleared his throat. Darcy looked up; he had backed a couple of feet away from her, and was holding his hands in front of him.

“Please forgive me”, he said slowly, “I thought I was being attacked.”

She was about to scream something with her famous sailor’s mouth when he saw his face properly in the light for the first time. It was covered by small cuts and an ugly bruise was coloring his right temple. He had thin lips with nice teeth, and two, innocent-looking green eyes. The man was also slightly hunched forward, apparently balancing most of his weight on his right foot.

Okay, to his defense, he did look like he had been in an ugly fight. Something like an ugly fight where people were hitting him while he was curled up on the floor. Nasty.

And then, just as Darcy was hesitating on what to do, he growled, falling on one knee, holding his side. Screw logic: even though she should run away from that strong-as-hell alien dude, she just couldn’t bear to leave him there, hurt and broken, in the middle of nowhere.

Darcy approached him carefully, holding her hand to him.

“Dude, it’s fine. Just… don’t do it anymore, okay? Here, let me help you.”

He smiled forcefully, but did grab her hand, leaning into her for support.

“Look, I know you should probably head to a hospital, but we’re, like, lost. There’s nothing around except for a small cabin. So I’ll take you there for now. Do you think you’ll be fine? I mean, I know you guys are strong and all, but –”

He stopped in his track, looking pensively to her.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked.

She smiled.

“Oh, I know about the whole rainbow bridge and alien-gods and stuff. I met Thor. You know Thor? Don’t know if you guys met or whatever, how big is your world? Is ‘Thor’ like, a super common name, like ‘Stephen’ or ‘Charlie’?”

The man didn’t answer for a moment. Finally, once they reached the car and she opened the back door for him, he whispered a low “yes”. As in “yes, I know Thor”.

“Great. He’s my bud, you know? Like, I’ve even seen Mew-Mew up close, although I don’t get why he keeps calling in that way, like dude it’s a hammer, not a cat, and… Sorry. I’ll shut up now. I keep rambling when I’m nervous.”

He sat in the tiny space the car allowed him, his legs obviously too long to allow him some comfort.

“Are you nervous?” he asked.

Darcy almost rolled her eyes, but resisted (painfully).

“Hum, yeah. That’s how I seem to react when someone falls from the sky and is injured. I’m getting some experience in this area. You’re lucky you haven’t been tased yet, by the way.”

She quickly got into the car as well and drove past his landing site, going deeper into the woods.

“My cell is no use here, but the cabin’s supposed to have a working phone. So I’ll try to call 911 or something when we get there. It might take a while, but they’ll probably be able to find us.”

The man did not answer, but was still conscious once Darcy checked on him. He was looking through the window, expression pained. Of course he was in pain; he had fallen from the goddamn sky!

They reached the cabin only a couple of minutes later, which had Darcy absolutely relieved. She helped the man out of the car, then towards the door. She fumbled with the keys for a moment, but finally unlocked the door and got them in.

Darcy let him get comfortable on the old-looking, weird-smelling couch from the living room before heading out again, grabbing her luggage. There’s not much, only some clothes, her laptop, her iPod (duh), and some of her beauty essentials (soap, shampoo, conditioner, a toothbrush and toothpaste, good old tampons, and some more junk).

Darcy locked the car and dropped every bag on the floor as soon as she got in for the second time. Okay, there might not be much, but it’s still heavy as hell. She should probably start to work out again. But why work out when you can watch good movies curled up in bed? Or eat pizza? The choice is quite simple.

Curiously, the man was not on the couch anymore. Darcy raised a brow.

“Hum, dude? Where are you?” she called. “Don’t think you should walk in your state!”

She turned on the lights and went to the kitchen when she heard a crushing noise. There, she spotted his back by the counter, near the sink.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

He slowly turned to face her, and she froze.

Gone were his limp, his hunch, his cuts, and his bruise. His lips were arched a bit too much upwards, his eyes looking dangerously alive.

He held the remains of the phone in his hands, completely destroyed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos/comments/bookmarks, guys. I truly appreciate it xox


	4. Defense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I was planning 1chapter/day, buuuut this fic is writing itself (short chapters = my jam yoooo).  
> Enjoy!

Darcy didn’t even have to think: she quickly turned around and bolted for the door. Unfortunately, she missed the biggest, blackest bag in front of her and fell down. Fortunately, that fall prevented the man from catching her, as he fell as well (because of her leg that clearly wasn’t supposed to be in the way).

Darcy ignored the pain she fell growing in her knees and turned around, going back to the kitchen. She just had the time to grab the first knife she could find in the top drawer before the man entered the room, hands back to their ‘trust me, I’m not threatening you’ stand.

As if.

She wasn’t as stupid as she looked – not that she looked stupid, she didn’t think so, but well, that’s the saying, so… Oh, Darcy, focus!

“Step the _fuck_ away from me”, she snarled.

He was tall, very tall, and she suddenly felt very little.

“Put the knife down, we wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself”, he said, his voice warm, deep, almost friendly.

When he took another step in her direction, Darcy swung the knife in front of her.

“I said GET AWAY!”

The man stopped in his tracks, but kept his hands up. Darcy took a deep breath, and then reached for her car keys.

“Okay, I have no idea who you are”, she started, “so let’s be reasonable. You know how to drive? Take the car and leave. I’ll be stuck here for a couple of days without a phone, so I won’t be able to tell anyone that another alien got here. You’ll have time to… to do whatever you intended to do. Deal?”

He moved his head in a negative motion. His lips were still up, this time, in a reassuring smile that made Darcy want to throw up on the kitchen’s floor.

 “Oh, I don’t need your car. What I need is a place to stay, and I just found it.”

“Okay. Fine with me, dude. You stay here, I leave. Simple as that.”

He took another step towards her. She backed until she reached the counter, terrified.

“Now, we wouldn’t want you running around, alerting people that an… ‘alien’ arrived here today, would we?”, his voice terribly sweet.

Darcy threw the keys in his direction, hitting him square on his chest.

“Find another place to stay! Leave!” Her grip on the knife grew tighter. “I want you out of here RIGHT NOW!”

The man let his hands fall to his sides.

“I told you, I am staying here.”

And then, he slowly reached for the knife.

Darcy moved faster than she thought she ever could, and without really knowing it, sliced a thin cut on his left cheek. They both froze. For a moment, the only thing that moved was the blood that ran from his injury to his chin. Then, the man let out a laugh.

“You poor, poor thing. What have you done?” was all he said.

And, for the second time in less than ten minutes, Darcy ran for her life. But before that, she threw the knife in the man’s direction. The distraction allowed her to slip past him without problem. Her destination: the bathroom.

Okay, Darcy probably should have run for the exit door, but she didn’t have her keys anymore, and she didn’t have time to look for them while trying to escape that freaking weirdo. So bathroom it was. Why the bathroom? Because it’s the only room that is guaranteed to have a lock on its door. And a lock was all Darcy needed. She was pretty sure her cell phone would work in the cabin (at least, that’s why the guy who rented them the place had said), and five seconds alone was all she needed to speed-dial the shit out of S.H.I.E.L.D.

But of course, there were only two bedrooms and no freaking bathroom in sight. Why? Because she was in a goddamn freaking stupid shitty cabin in the motherfucking woods, and the shitter was outside, in what could be qualified as a backyard, but was just MORE MOTHERFUCKING TREES AND SHIT.

Upon realizing she probably was screwed, Darcy got into one of the bedrooms and slammed the door… on the man’s foot.

Of course.

So, before she was killed by an alien in a cabin lost in the middle of nowhere, Darcy decided she was going to _talk her way out of this_.

She was quite good at it, actually. After all, it worked with her parents, her university professors, and even police officers. She got out of speeding tickets all the time, thanks to her big mouth.

So once the alien dude entered the bedroom, eyes sparkling in a dangerous manner, Darcy lost no time. Backed on the other side of the bed, which was the only thing separating them, she attacked.

“Calm the fuck down, dude. You heal like _fucking_ fast. Look! No more cut on your face. You’re as good as new.”

Apparently, that wasn’t the right thing to say. In the blink of an eye, he was on her, past the best, crowding her personal space until she was pressed against the wall, his arms on both sides of her face.

“Dude, back off! I saved your life!”

The man looked down at her with disbelief, but he did stop whatever he was doing (leaning into her face like that, hum, creepy much, right?). Darcy felt she was saying something right, so she continued:

“What do you think I was doing, before you jumped on me? Punching your chest for fun? You heart had stopped, okay? That’s called CPR.”

The man seemed to consider this for a moment, his eyes fixed on hers, as if he was trying to pierce her skull with his gaze

_Which he probably was trying to do – oh God, what if he had laser eyes, like Superman? I’m so screwed._

Finally, after some apparent consideration, he dropped his arms and turned around.

“Don’t do it again, girl. Everytime you hurt me, I will do exactly the same to you.”

Darcy couldn’t help it when she responded with:

“Same goes to you, dude.”

She _swore_ he winked at her before exiting the bedroom.

 _What the flying fuck_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for everything guys, the attention to this fic warms my heart :)


	5. Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH GOSH GUYS.  
> I'm soooo happy.  
> I've been a member of other fanfiction communities before, but I've never had such positive and impressive feedback before.  
> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE COMMENTS. You're warming my little heart.  
> Here 's the newest chapter, enjoy! :)

Darcy looked at the man.

The man looked at Darcy.

That’s all they had been doing for the past fifteen minutes.

They were sitting at the table, in front of each other. He was leaning in, fingers drumming a rhythm on the wood. Darcy was surveying his face, arms crossed on her chest.

She was the first to break the silence.

“Okay. What do we do, now that you _apparently_ are not going to kill me?” she asked.

He chuckled.

“Who said anything about not killing you?”

Darcy rolled her eyes.

“Oh, _please_. You’re not giving me the ‘if I wanted you dead, you’d be dead a long time ago’ speech?”

_Villain-Russian accent on point, Darce. Way to go._

The man leaned back on his chair, sighing.

“I prefer to use people, and then, dispose of them. It is more practical,” he explained.

The calmness he used to speak those words made Darcy shiver.

“Please don’t say things like that, okay? Like, let me think that I might make it out of this in one piece. Even if I don’t, I’d like to think I can.”

“Suit yourself.”

Before they could go back to their ‘I’m-not-talking-to-you-but-I’ll-keep-staring contest’, Darcy cleared her throat.

“Seriously, I’ve been travelling for the whole day, I’m tired. Like reaaaaaally tired. And I bet you are, too. So right now, I want to sleep, which I kinda _cannot do_ , for obvious reasons. I’d really like to know what you plan on doing, or what you want, or at least something.”

He stood up, and Darcy did the same. Yep, he was still taller than her by at least a foot, but she didn’t feel as helpless as when he stood upon her.

“I will hide here for a while. As long as you don’t run away, everything should be fine between us. So go on, sleep.”

And he went back to the living room. Darcy let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

_Okay, Darce, move. Do something. Don’t focus on the fact that you’re the hostage of a freaking dangerous alien dude. You’re good._

So she went to the door, grabbed her bags, and headed for the largest bedroom. Knowing Jane, she wouldn’t probably sleep a lot once she got here, so she wouldn’t mind having the smallest room.

As she was changing into more comfortable clothes (aka her Tweety Bird pajamas, childish as they could be), Darcy reached for her cell phone, still in her coat’s pocket. After a quick look out the door, she pressed ‘1’ as hard as she could. When nothing happened, she frowned.

The battery had died.

Of course it had.

_Well, okay, no need to worry. Just plug it, you’ll be fine._

And of course, just as Darcy was bent down, looking for her charger, the alien dude reappeared right behind her.

“And what exactly do you think you’re doing?”

She screamed and jumped around, her hand on her heart.

“What the fuck! Don’t scare people like that!”

He ignored her, reaching for the device still on the floor.

“Hey, before you destroy this one as well, hear me out,” Darcy started. “My boss will need updates to know I’m doing good, okay? If she doesn’t hear from me, it’ll be way too suspicious, and she’ll alert someone. And I guess that’s not what you want, am I right?”

The man looked at her pensively, and then showed her the door.

“You will sleep in the other room. And you will only use this _thing_ when I can watch you.”

Darcy quickly agreed, but didn’t move. He sighed.

“What are you still –”

“I still need to charge it. It’ll only take a second. Look, that’s the charger, and – BOOM! There we go. All done.”

Then, she literally ran to the other room. Luckily, the man did not follow her. She considered closing the door, but the perspective of not hearing him approach was enough persuasion to leave the door open.

And on top of everything, he had picked the biggest room with the biggest bed… Not fair. Like, really _not fair_. She had called dibs on it first! Whatever. She’d do something about it, but tomorrow. Who knew, maybe his crazy would disappear over the night?

After a while, tucked under the covers but unable to sleep, Darcy asked:

“Hey, you asleep yet?”

He didn’t respond, but she heard him move from the other room. That was enough for her.

“I’m Darcy, by the way. What’s your name?”

Nothing.

She sighed.

“Okay, fine, I’ll keep calling you ‘dude’. You don’t seem to mind so much. That’s your name, now.”

The bed next door creaked. Darcy chuckled.

“Good night, Dude.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I always write the next chapter before posting one. So there's one that shall be posted tonight.  
> Also, everything is planned. The whole fic should be posted in the next days. I already have an idea for part 2 (because there's gonna be a part 2 kyaaaaaaa).


	6. Dude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I love you all so much.  
> Enjoy!

Strangely, Darcy slept exceptionally well that night. And she would probably still be asleep if it wasn’t for the commotion that was coming from the kitchen. When she opened her eyes, it took her a while to remember where she was and everything that happened the night before. But, as soon as she realized she was _actually_ trapped in a cabin with a deranged maniac (it hadn’t been a nightmare, after all), Darcy jumped from the bed and slowly, carefully, approached the source of the noise.

Dude was apparently looking for something in the kitchen. He looked pissed, but not overly mad, which could be interpreted as a good sign.

“Hum, what’s wrong?” she asked.

Dude turned around and made Darcy jump back a little.

He looked like shit.

Dark circles ran deeply underneath his eyes, eyes that looked feverishly-blue at the moment. His skin was whiter than she remembered, and he looked emaciated. To put it in simple words, Darcy thought she was facing a walking corpse in the kitchen.

“Dude, did you… Sleep at all?”

He ignored the question and closed the drawer he had been searching a second ago.

“There is no sustenance here.”

“Hum, English, please? You mean, like, food? Of course there isn’t any, I have to go buy some today.”

In a flash, he was in front of her.

“You are not leaving this place”, he told her.

“Oh God, Dude, _back off_!” she answered as she took a step back. “Personal space, ever heard of it? I need room to breathe.”

Darcy found the keys on the floor next to her foot. Smiling, she grabbed them.

“Okay, so here’s the – HEY!”

Dude had seized her wrist and was holding it in front of his eyes. Darcy tried to get away, but his grip was too tight.

“Do I need to spell it for you, mortal? You are not leaving this place!”

And, for good measure, he shook her wrist. Kind of hard.

Darcy got pissed. Again. So she did the only logical thing she could think of: she grabbed his other wrist and shook it as well. Dude looked positively… stunned.

“I told you yesterday, you touch me, I touch you. An eye for an eye, remember? Now, let go of me and let’s talk like two civilized adults.”

The most incredible thing happened: he actually did let go of her.

_Way to go, Darce. Look at that. You’re the boss_.

She took a moment to regain control of her breathing (she did think, for a second, that he would get super angry and do something stupid, like tear off her arm) before dropping the keys on the table.

“As I was saying, we need food. And unless you’re planning on starving to death, I’ll have to go buy some. You can come with me to make sure that I don’t run away, but only if you behave. And if you don’t attract attention. And especially if you don’t kill anyone.”

Dude inclined his head a bit, and then, snapped his fingers. A green ray of light blinded Darcy for a second. When she opened her eyes again, she faced a tall, brooding woman.

“Will that do?” the woman asked.

And Darcy just laughed, a good, honest, deep laugh, while going back to the room Dude had been sleeping in (or maybe just sulking in – he probably had insomnia, judging by his expression).

“Seriously, you’re way too hot as a girl. I said you’re not supposed to attract people’s attention. You look like a goddamn super-model. Fuck. Here, put this on.”

Darcy handed Dude (or… Gurl? Whatever, he would stay “Dude” even as a lady) her biggest, ugliest (but most comfortable) hoodie and a hat. When he didn’t react, she pushed the clothes into his arms.

“To complete your _mere mortal_ disguise. Now get out, I need to change.”

And she slammed the door in his face, smiling, although her smile quickly turned into a scream once the door reopened and she was stupidly looking at Dude, holding her jeans, only in her Tweety Bird shirt and panties.

“DUDE!” she yelled.

He ignored her and took the phone, then got out, even closing the door behind him. Darcy got right on the door and changed rapidly, then got out.

“Okay, seriously, we need to talk about barriers. Like, personal space is one thing, but have you not heard of _privacy_?”

Dude raised a brow and crossed his arms on his chest (well, more like on his newly-acquired boobs).

“I couldn’t leave you alone with the device. I don’t trust you,” he explained.

“I don’t trust you either, okay? You feel better about it now? Next time, knock on the door. I’ll wait in the car.”

They were just out of the road where Dude had almost died when he said, in his high-pitched female voice:

“Your device is flashing.”

Darcy shrugged.

“I’ll look at it once we reach the supermarket. It doesn’t have any service in the woods anyway. It’s fine.”

“You were not scared.”

The question took Darcy by surprise. She looked at Dude, waiting for some explanation.

“I turned into this form and you _laughed_ ,” he said, almost hurt.

“Oh my God, that’s the only thing bugging you today? I told you I knew about Mew-Mew, right? I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff in the past week, don’t take it personal.”

That didn’t seem to help Dude feel better at all. At that thought, Darcy shivered.

_Why do I want him to cheer up? What is wrong with me? Huuuuuh. I’m wayyy to nice for my own good. Dad was right, it’s gonna get me killed. Not that he ever said that, but I know he thought about it. A lot._

“It’s still super impressive, Dude. Can you do other stuff, too?”

“Why would I tell you that?”

_Back into bitch-mode, right? Fine._

The rest of the drive was awfully silent, so Darcy put on the radio and sang along. She needed it, okay? And she wouldn’t let an alien, shapeshifting maniac not have her regular karaoke fun in the car.

Once she parked, Dude handed her the phone.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” was all he said.

Darcy smiled.

“Okay, seriously, could you stay as a girl? I feel we could connect more. Wanna paint each other nails later tonight? We could watch _Clueless_ and eat junk. It’d be awesome.”

Dude looked like he could kill her right now, which Darcy felt strangely proud at.

_Haven’t lost it, girl._

Sighing, she finally took the phone and read the two texts Jane had sent her.

_Leaving._

_Call me_.

Really, Jane wasn’t a woman of many words.

“Okay, Dude, my boss wants me to call her. It’s fine, right? I won’t say anything stupid, I promise. I’ve watched enough kidnapping movies to know what to do. We’re good?”

He simply looked at her. Rolling her eyes, Darcy put the phone on speaker and dialed Jane’s number.

“ _You’ve reached Jane, can’t talk right now, leave a message!_ ”

“Hey Jane, it’s your favorite and only intern speaking. Everything’s good. The place is small and sucks, but hey, it’s only temporary, right? I’m freezing my butt off, by the way. I’m off to buy us some food so we don’t turn crazy and start to eat each other’s limbs like good cannibals would. Text me or call me later, I wanna make sure everything’s fine on your side. Byyyyyyye.”

And with that, she hung up.

“Midgardians are strange”, Dude said, taking the phone back and putting it in the hoodie’s pocket.

Darcy looked rather impressed.

“You’re not as lost as Thor: he had no idea where he was when he got here.”

“Thor is stupid. I am not. Let’s go.”

“Okay, boss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter might be up tonight as well... Depends if I can still write.   
> We'll see.


	7. Bath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last one for today.  
> Enjoy :)

The trip had actually gone way better than Darcy had expected. Not only was she back to the cabin in one whole piece, Dude had stayed quiet and behaved properly. Everyone was fine once they left the store (no broken limbs or decapitated head, thank you very much), so Darcy felt in a good mood.

That explained why she was currently cooking them brunch instead of simply tossing Dude some cereals. He was back to his man, alien-form, clothed with some kind of armor, face looking rather tired. And because he had refused to let her hold a knife again, Dude was currently cutting vegetables for their omelettes. Talk about improvement!

They ate in silence, Dude apparently liking the food to some extent because he wasn’t spitting it out everywhere. The thought of it made Darcy chuckle quietly.

Once they were done, Dude slipped quietly to the living room, leaving the dishes for Darcy to clean. She didn’t really mind: by the look of him, she was doubting he even _knew_ how to wash dishes. At least, he hadn’t thrown any mugs on the floor, like Thor, even though he loved coffee enough to serve himself twice.

The cabin was nice enough to have running water and kitchen appliances, but it lacked one crucial thing (even more important than an indoor toilet): a shower. Darcy could tolerate freezing her butt to go do her business outside, but she couldn’t bear to forget her daily shower. At least, she wasn’t having her period (she probably would have killed Dude with the knife if she had, being emotional and all, thank you very much).

So she put some water to boil on the stove, found a big salad bowl, and went to her newly-acquired room (aka the small one) to prepare some stuff. She wouldn’t wash her hair today, but at least she had thought of bringing some dry shampoo with her.

_I swear to God, that shit saves lives._

Once the water was ready, Darcy went to the living room.

“Dude?”

He was sitting on the weird-smelling couch, facing the window, eyes closed. He was twitching, apparently in pain. Hesitantly, Darcy reached for his shoulder.

“Hey!”

Dude suddenly opened his eyes, which were a very bright blue at the moment. A thin layer of sweat ran on his forehead, and he was breathing rather erratically.

“Gosh, what’s wrong?” she asked.

He got up, turning away from her.

“Leave me”, he murmured.

“Yeah, hum, sure. Just… I’ll try to wash off a bit, so please, knock on my door if there’s anything, okay? I’d appreciate it.”

And, without waiting for an answer, she turned around and left the room. She was getting use to brooding silence from him as an answer.

So Darcy went back to the kitchen, poured hot water in the bowl, added some cold water as well, and headed back to her bedroom. She was still anxious at the idea of being naked in the same cabin where Dude was, so she washed with a cloth as quickly as possible. It wasn’t really comparable to a real, steamy hot shower, but for the time being, it would do.

Once she emerged from her bedroom, Dude was still in the living room, but wasn’t meditating anymore – or sleeping while sitting up, whatever. He was looking outside. Once he heard her throwing the used water down the drain, he walked to her.

“Your device made weird noises earlier”, he simply said, handing her the phone.

1 missed call from Jane.

“It’s my boss,” Darcy explained.

Dude agreed with a single head sign. Jane picked up on the second ring.

“Darcy! Is everything okay?”

“Jane, relax, I was _trying_ to take a bath.”

“There’s a bath? The guy never –”

“Nope, no bath, but I improvised. I used to go camping every summer, soooo I’m quite resourceful. So, what’s up? Where are you?”

Jane sighed.

“Somewhere in Utah or Idaho, I can’t remember. I’m trying to be there as fast as I can.”

 “No biggie, Jane.  Drive safe, okay? I’ll try to not die from boredom while I wait.”

“The wifi’s not working?” asked her boss.

“Still have to double-check that. I’ve got some movies in my laptop if there isn’t.”

“Good. No abnormal signs out there? I know it’s a bit early, but who knows…”

Darcy looked at Dude.

 _Fuck, can’t even say something_.

“Nope, everything’s normal as can be. And boring as fuck.”

“Okay. Well, keep an eye out. I’m getting back in. Bye Darce!”

As soon as Darcy hung up, Dude took the phone back, just like he had done earlier today.

“Is the water still warm?”

His question really surprised her.

“Hum?”

“I said, is the water still warm?”

Darcy shrugged.

“I guess.”

Dude moved to the stove, and did just as she did earlier: he poured some water in the salad bowl she had cleaned after she had been done with it.

“Would you happen to have any type of cloth I could use to refresh myself?”

Darcy looked up at him, clearly confused.

“Dude, did you just _ask_? Are you sick?”

Seeing the look he was giving her, he clearly wasn’t. Darcy headed to her room once again and came back, holding a small, unused towel. As she handed it to him, she realized his eyes were back to green.

“Dude, your eyes… that’s seriously cool. I wish mine could change color as well. Blue is nice, but I’ve always wondered what I’d look like with brown eyes. Or purple. Yeah, purple would be awesome.”

“What?”

Taking the cloth from her hand, his finger brushed hers very gently. Darcy took a small step back: his finger was ice cold.

“Hum… Never mind.”

Leaving the towel on the table, next to the bowl, Dude shrugged off his coat. And his undercoat. And his shirt. And…

_OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK?!_

“Duuuuuude!” yelled Darcy, quickly turning away from him. “I’m still here! Wait until I leave, or go to another room!”

He got closer to her back, and she could _feel_ the cold his body radiated.

“I told you,” he said, voice soft, “I don’t trust you. I can’t leave you out of my sight.”

“You did, like, ten minutes ago!”

“I had your phone. And now that I heard about that _wifi_ and another possible device, do you think I will leave you alone for one second?”

Okay, Darcy had been stupid. She could have use the five minutes it took her to wash herself to turn on her computer, check for wifi, and send a big “HELP ME” on her Facebook account. Because there was _no way in hell_ SHIELD wasn’t monitoring her there as well.

“Okay, Dude, I’ll get you my computer, but _fuck_ privacy goes both ways!”

“Just sit there, it won’t take long.”

“Dude!”

He brushed one of her hair strands back and leaned close to her ear. She shivered again.

“Darcy, please, have a seat.”


	8. Han Shot First

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, your feedback is making me giggle in front of my computer's screen! Thank you all soooo much!!

_Why am I the one who’s freaking out and who thinks the whole situation is fucking absurd when HE’S THE ONE NAKED IN THE GODDAMN KITCHEN?!_

To be honest, the whole thing hadn’t taken more than a few moments, but it did feel longer for Darcy. And she had felt awfully really embarrassed for the whole time it lasted.

“You’re so weird, Dude. If that was your plan to let me see you naked, you suck. When was the last time you flirted? 'Cause you’re rusty. Or maybe that shit works on your planet, but here, it doesn’t. _At all_.”

She had kept talking to distract her. Darcy felt awfully conscious about herself, even though she was the one who was currently fully clothed.

_If he wanted to fuck with my brains, well, he should be proud of himself_.

Dude was decent enough to slightly chuckle in answer.

_Well, there’s an improvement. At least, he doesn’t ignore me anymore._

The sound of water pouring down the drains made Darcy look behind her shoulder. Dude was clothed with black pants and a green tunic held by a thin belt.

“Thanks for letting me know you’re done,” she said.

She got up.

“I’m getting my laptop and putting on a movie. You’re more than welcome to do whatever the fuck you keep doing all by yourself, or you can watch it with me. And yeah, I will let you follow me around to make _sure_ I don’t contact anyone while I got get it.”

But he did not follow her to her bedroom. Anyway, Darcy didn’t want to give him one more reason to freak out, so she grabbed her laptop and came back, getting comfortable on the smelly couch.

And yeah, her luck really was out of town: no wifi.

It didn’t hurt to check while Dude clearly had no idea what “wifi” was, right?

Once Darcy decided she was in the mood for _Star Wars_ and the generic had rolled (she _had_ singed along to the main theme, because _who wouldn’t_?), Dude decided to join her.

“I wanted to watch _Pride and Prejudice_ , but I decided to spare your poor soul”, Darcy explained.

 “So _magnanimous_ of you, really”, he answered.

“Dude, English. I told you already. Which reminds me…”

She suddenly got closer to him, leaning in his personal space, getting close to his ear, whispering:

“An eye for an eye.”

And Darcy got back to her spot, curled in the corner of the couch, simply adding:

“Stop creeping me out. Personal space _and_ privacy, please. Whispering in someone’s ear is a big no-no, _capitch_?”

From the corner of her eye, she spotted the twinkle of amusement in the man’s eye.

_Good, good. Let my humor flow through you, muhahahaha._

Once the movie was over, Darcy turned to Dude, ready to ask him tons of questions. Was space really like that? Had he ever flown a spaceship? What did _other_ alien forms look like?

But Dude was asleep, legs sprayed in front of him, finally looking peaceful. Well, his dark circles were still there, but at least, his expression had turned to something sweeter, younger.

And right out of his pocket, half out, was Darcy’s cell phone.

_Fucking dilemma…_

She had to take it, right? Call SHIELD and let them know she was in trouble? On the other hand, if Dude were to wake up while she was calling for help… She would probably end up as a shish kebab. But she NEEDED the fucking phone, she wasn’t stupid enough to think Dude wouldn’t kill her once he was done here (he was the one who told her about his master plan, after all).

So Darcy decided to use subtlety: slowly, carefully, she got closer to the alien man until she could lay her head down on his shoulder.

No reaction.

Darcy reached for the phone. And once she got it, of _fucking_ course, fingers wrapped around her wrist for the second time today.

She jumped off the couch, hands raised in front of her. Dude was looking at her with half-closed eyes, a mix of tired, pissed, and slightly lost painted on his features.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I won’t do it again, okay? Like, what did you expect? I’m scared _shitless_!”

He slowly got up, and then walked towards her.

“Dude, I swear! If you kill me, I’ll fucking kill you!” she screamed, looking for a weapon to defend herself (which would be completely pointless).

The man stopped in his track, raising a brow.

“And how exactly would you manage to _kill me_ if you’re dead, mortal? Do you hear yourself when you talk? Is this nonsense the dialect of your people?”

“Ever heard of ghosts? Okay, I may not be able to murder you, but I’d haunt the shit out of you. Forever. And even I wouldn’t want that to happen.”

Dude shrugged and turned, heading for the kitchen.

“Next time, I’ll cut off your hand,” he said.

Darcy stared at his back in disbelief.

“Dude, I’ll cut yours as well if you do that!” she answered, following him. “So, what do you want to eat tonight, my famous _Kraft Dinner_ or some grilled cheese?”

The pattern from earlier repeated itself: Darcy was cooking, Dude was cutting stuff (by stuff, Darcy meant the grilled cheese. She had instructed him to cut triangles, not squares, because who the fuck would eat squared grilled cheese? That shit shouldn’t be legal). She got them some canned peaches and yogurt for dessert, which Dude seemed to especially like.

Then, it was time for dishes again, and Darcy put some more water to boil for tea. She always appreciated a warm cup of peppermint after supper, and something told her that Dude was probably a tea-guy (*coughs* his accents *coughs*).

Mugs full, she sat back at the table. Dude was back to his confused meditating stance, shivering and sweating, brows furrowed. However, this time, he didn’t need Darcy to snap him out of it: he suddenly stood up, screaming something Darcy didn’t quite understand.

Next thing she knew, Dude was flipping the _fucking table_. Darcy just had time to get away so the hot tea wouldn’t burn her. Her back against the wall, breathing fast, she looked at the man. His hands were on his hips; his head was down, eyes closed. He was trying to snap out of something. The man finally brushed his hair out of his face and fixed his gaze (which was back to blue) on Darcy. He looked terribly confused, but also _frightened_ , which scared her. Whatever he was afraid of, that probably couldn’t mean good news to her.

“It’s okay,” Darcy whispered to him, getting closer with small steps, just like she would with a scared animal.

She reached for his hands and rubbed her thumbs on his palms, trying to calm him. He melted under her touch, and fell on his knees in front of her.

“I –”

Darcy shushed him, and did one thing she never thought she could: she wrapped her arms around his head, hugging him to her body.

“It’s alright, you’re okay,” she chanted.

His hands reached her waist and held her tightly. She gasped, but didn’t move. The whole thing was getting stranger and stranger, but as long as it didn’t involve her getting hurt, Darcy was fine with it.

Dude slowly relaxed in her arms, and he let go of his grasp on her shirt. He wasn’t as cold as before, but he sure felt awfully like ice in contrast to her body heat. Darcy’s hands reached his hair, gently brushing them.

And then, as suddenly as the moment had started, it ended when the sound of a car door being closed came from outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah for the fluuuuuuuuuuuuff!  
> Only 1 chapter up today, sorry. Didn't have time to write. I will try to put the rest of the fanfiction up by tomorrow, or the day after.  
> Thanks for reading xoxo


	9. You Hit Me Once, I Hit You Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got some feedback on my chapters' titles. Glad you guys like them.  
> This once is taken from "Kiss With A Fist", by Florence + The Machine (which I adore). Thought it was quite fitting the situation ('cause we've got a situation going on here, friends).  
> Enjoy!

Dude was at the door a second later, shoulders tensed and lips pulled back into a snarl. Darcy quickly ran after him. It couldn’t be Jane; that would literally be _impossible_. Who could it be? Apart from them and from Erik, no one knew about this place… Unless SHIELD had been monitoring the shit out of Darcy’s moves and knew she was in trouble.

_Please be SHIELD – please be SHIELD – please be SHIELD._

It wasn’t SHIELD.

At the end of the driveway, there stood a man in his early forties. His eyes were down on his phone as he walked towards the cabin. Darcy recognized him after a second. She put her hand on Dude’s shoulder, trying to reassure him that _no, she didn’t blow his cover or anything like that_.

Her friendly gesture didn’t work.

Dude, eyes wide, looked ready for war. Darcy took off her hand from him.

“That’s the guy who’s renting us this place. I just need to give him the deposit money,” she explained.

It didn’t seem to matter anyway to Dude.

“Hey, calm down, he’ll be gone in two minutes. The money is in my –”

“That man cannot see me”, Dude said through clenched teeth.

Darcy let out a sigh.

“Then go hide somewhere!”

“He is not leaving this place alive.”

An unpleasant feeling settled itself in Darcy’s stomach. Dude was not messing around.

“You can’t just go around, saying you’ll kill people for _nothing_. Turn into a girl or something, you’ve done it before!”

Her solution didn’t seem to help at all. Dude was tensed all over, ready to bounce on the poor, unsuspecting landlord. His eyes, still the brightest blue Darcy had ever seen, look positively mad.

_Okay, Darcy, blue equals bad stuff. Distract him. You need to make him snap out of it. Do something. You don’t want to witness any murder today – nor any other day, so think. THINK NOW._

The landlord was getting closer to the front door, head still down. Dude was clenching his fists. Oh, so he planned on murdering the man with his bare hands? Not cool. Darcy needed to think of something, and quickly.

_Don’t freak out, think!_

And, suddenly, she remembered a very embarrassing moment from her first college year.

_That might work. Oh God, please, I need a miracle here._

And then, without taking the time to think a little more about it, Darcy crossed her arms in front of her, grabbed her shirt, and took it off. She quickly took Dude’s face in her hands and whispered, looking anywhere but in his eyes:

“You’ll get mad later, okay?”

And she crushed her lips on his.

In the millisecond between Darcy’s initiative and Dude’s reaction, she had anticipated the different ones he may have. He could have, for instance, frozen on the spot, or thrown her on the ground like the ‘mere mortal’ that she was supposed to be. But Darcy certainly hadn’t thought about the fact that he could actually _support_ her idea. And he did seem very… supportive.

Dude had scooped her up in his arms, both hands on her ass as she wrapped her legs around his waist. And he was kissing her back.

And… _what a fucking good kiss_ that was. His tongue was doing things she… Well, let’s just say she had never felt a tongue moving like this before, and certainly not in her mouth. It felt _divine_.

Darcy pulled a little on his hair and Dude moaned between his parted lips. And that sound alone did a little something to Darcy’s belly, but this time, that little something actually felt good.

This whole thing felt so damn amazing that she _actually_ got lost into their passionate exchange until the door opened and she heard a loud gasp.

Darcy whipped her head around and faked surprise by letting out a loud shriek. The landlord took a step back, eyes suddenly going on the floor, as he explained who he was. Darcy jumped off Dude’s arms and bent down to put her shirt back on.

“Man, I’m so sorry, I… Paul! Go get my purse, the money’s in there!” she commanded.

And ‘Paul’ didn’t need her to repeat, for he was gone the moment she looked in his direction. Darcy turned back to the landlord.

“Hum, listen, could we, like, keep this between us? My boss doesn’t want me to bring him here and well…”

And the man winked at her in a way that made her feel shirtless again. Eeew. Fortunately for Darcy, Dude handed her her purse a second later. She took the envelope full of cash out, handed it to the landlord, and pushed him out the door a little bit hastily (more like, a loooot more hastily than was necessary). Finally, once his car left, she crumbled on the floor.

“Thank God”, Darcy murmured to herself.

She was seriously getting good at figuring out to keep Dude from killing people, but she was also getting tired of having to do it (and reminding him that the idea of murdering her being _not okay_ was even more exhausting).

Dude stepped next to her, shoulder rolled back.

_Eyes back to green means good. Okay. I’m out of trouble for now._

“He still saw me,” he said.

“He didn’t see your face, that’s a fact. Trust me.”

She dropped a hand on her eyes, covering them. Even though it was over for now, Darcy couldn’t stop shaking.

“How can you be certain of that?” he retorted.

“Simple: tell me what he looked like. Eye color? Mustache or no? Approximate age? Big nose?”

When he didn’t answer any of her questions, Darcy let out a giggle.

“See? Neither of you looked at each other; you guys were too busy looking at something else. Why do you think I took my shirt off?”

When she dropped her arm from her gaze, Darcy came face to face with Dude, who was right on top of her on the floor. Her breath got caught in her lungs as she stared at him.

“I guess… Now is time for me to ‘get mad’, isn’t it?” he explained.

Darcy’s eyes widened.

“I wasn’t serious, Dude, I –”

He put his finger on her mouth, silencing her. Darcy swallowed with some difficulty. Then, slowly, Dude reached for her face and pressed his lips to hers. Darcy was so shocked that, by the time she snapped out of it, he was standing up again, and was leaving for (presumably) the bedroom.

“What is it, that you keep telling me? ‘An eye for an eye’?” he asked her, his voice loud.

She didn’t reply, not able to get off the floor.

_Dude, that’s not cool. Not cool at all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't believe I'm almost done. Oh well.  
> Two more chapters to gooooo (they shall be posted tomorrow).   
> I do realize the chapters are quite short, and I'll try to change that a bit for part 2. As I said, this fic is primarly a way for me to practice writing fiction in English. I'll need time to improve!
> 
> Thanks again for the kudos/bookmarks/comments, I appreciate it all :)


	10. Embrace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which it all comes to an end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy :)

Darcy couldn’t say for how long she had been asleep when she woke up with a start, sweat covering her forehead, heart pounding in her chest.

_It was only a nightmare, Darce… Just a nightmare._

She tried to go back to sleep, but couldn’t; the horror that just had haunted her dream threatened her into coming back if Darcy were to close her eyes again. She needed a distraction.

Her bladder turned out to be distracting enough. Darcy put on her coat, her boots, and ventured out of the cabin. She slipped twice, but managed to come back to the warmth in a single piece.

There was one thing Dude had let her do all by herself (which she truly was thankful for), and that was doing her ‘business’ outside, as long as she left the keys of her car with him. Tonight wasn’t different: Dude had taken the keys, her cell phone, and her laptop with him, keeping everything out of reach for the night. He even had asked for her iPod, which Darcy had categorically refused. There was a limit to what a girl could endure. (He had finally let it go once she proved it was only a music player.)

Sighing, Darcy headed back to her bedroom when she spotted a dark form by the door of Dude’s room. He wasn’t sleeping – hell, he wasn’t even in bed.

“Can’t sleep?” Darcy asked, shrugging off her coat.

“Leave,” he simply said.

The way his voice sounded was the first sign that something was up. It felt like the ‘table flipping’ episode from earlier, where Dude had looked completely lost and scared, like a child looking for his mother. So Darcy did what she did best: she completely ignored him and did the opposite of what was asked of her. Entering his bedroom with careful steps, she reached for his hand in the dark, but bumped his stomach instead. Dude didn’t move, so Darcy got closer to him.

Maybe it was the dark, the fact that it was the middle of the night, or the time they had spent together, but Darcy didn’t hesitate and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him to her. His reaction was instantaneous: he actually responded _positively_ to her touch, letting out a sigh. His whole body was tense, some muscles even twitching against her.

_I’ve never seen anyone so contradictory. One moment, he wants to kill every living thing in sight, and the next, he’s a puppy in need of attention._

Something was clearly wrong, and she didn’t think so because of his eyes, always alternating between green and blue. Darcy felt that he was fighting an inner battle – with what, she couldn’t say. But he was clearly loosing it; that, she was certain of.

So, while still hugging Dude, Darcy proceeded to talk about her. It could act as both a distraction _and_ as a way to help Dude reconsider his whole ‘I’ll kill you once I’m done here’ strategy. She had heard about it in multiple movies and TV shows about psychopaths (and Dude clearly was one, _duh_ ), so it wouldn’t hurt to try it on him.

“I jumped off my roof when I was eight, because I was stupid and wanted to impress the boys of the neighborhood. Ended up with a sprained ankle, which is better than that kid Jimmy – he broke his leg _and_ his nose. I’m also allergic to peanuts, and when I first heard I couldn’t eat them anymore, I took a big spoon of peanut butter and ate it all, right in front of my parents. Spent three days at the hospital; I couldn’t see a thing because my face was too puffy. I’m a Disney aficionado, and won’t shut up about it. I know every trivia there is to know about all the movies and the lyrics to the songs as well: like _all of them_.”

And, before she realized it, Darcy was with Dude in his bed, playing with his hair while still half-hugging him. She even hummed her best renditions of classical Disney songs (best lullabies _ever_ , if you asked her) to help him relax. Dude didn’t seem to mind her off-key voice, and she realized that she was feeling something she hadn’t felt in a long time – not since before college, when life was easy and simple: Darcy felt an eerie calmness enveloping her, letting her drift to a peaceful slumber.

 

The next morning, when opening her eyes, Darcy realized two things:

1) Dude was nowhere in sight and

2) The cell phone was right beside her head, half under the pillow.

Taking it carefully, looking around to make sure Dude wasn’t somewhere near, she quickly texted Jane (calling SHIELD would involve a _speaking_ part, which involved her _voice_ , which meant _sound_ ; that wasn’t such a good idea, as it would let Dude know of who she was contacting, and before SHIELD could reach her, she would probably already be dead).

_SOS_

_Don’t come_

_Alien dude + me hostage_

_Heeeeeelp_

Then, she dropped the phone back where it was and got up, trying to act as naturally as possible.

She found Dude in the living room, back into his full armour and helmet, which Darcy would have sworn had stayed back where she had CPR-ed the shit out of him.

_He’s a fucking alien from fucking outerspace that fucking shapeshifts, and you find the sudden appearance of his helmet weird? Girl, get help._

“Hey, what’s up with the clothes? Leaving already?” she said jokingly.

Once he turned around, Darcy realized all jokes meant nothing right now: Dude was back into his ‘I’m killing everyone’ phase.

“Your boss is here, which means… the time is up”, he said, his voice lacking any kind of warmth.

Indeed, that was Jane’s van at the end of the road, coming this way. Darcy reached for Dude like she had last night, this time, imploring him:

“Don’t hurt her, please.”

Dude swept away her arm, his smile vicious, and advanced on Darcy, who was backed against the wall.

_Never thought I’d be dying in freaking Tweety Bird pajamas. Wow. I guess it suits me._

Brushing her hair out of the way with a creepy tenderness, he reached for her throat, his fingers lazily wrapping around her neck. Darcy tried to get away, but he was caging her. She was trapped.

Darcy blinked the tears away and grabbed his arm, but she couldn’t shake him off of her: he was too strong.

“You don’t have to do this”, she whispered weakly, “We could find help for whatever it is that you’re fighting. Please.”

She had been so stupid, thinking that he would change his mind on her fate after a full day with her. Everything meant nothing to him, and he was about to leave her corpse on the floor for Jane to find – _if,_ by the time she came in the cabin, he had left.

He chuckled near her ear, so close to her face she could feel his fresh breath on her cheek.

“Oh, sweet little Darcy, if only…”

 _That’s it. Goodbye, world. It was nice while it lasted_.

And then, as she closed her eyes, she felt cold lips brushing against her forehead, his voice whispering sadly:

“But it’s too late for me.”

When she opened her eyes, Dude was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The epilogue will follow tonight :)


	11. Epilogue - A Storm

They never drank wine, Jane and her. Mostly because she didn’t really like it, but also because it was expensive as shit compared to beer. And Darcy was definitely a beer girl.

But, she had to admit, this wine was particularly good, even for a red one.

So here they were, in freaking Tromsø, enjoying over-the-top, freaking expensive food that had been delivered to their hotel room by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, looking serious as always. They hadn’t been allowed out of the room for the past day, which made Jane a bit cranky.

And by a bit cranky, Darcy meant _cranky as fuck_.

Anyways, they didn’t know why they had been sent here in the first place, but as soon as the TV was on, they realized _shit was going down_.

Apparently, there had been a big commotion the day before, at Stuttgart, when a psychopath had ripped a dude’s eye out of his face and proceeded to threaten civilians, before being stopped by Iron Man and Captain America (yeah, the dude was apparently alive and looking _damn fine_ for a 90-year-old).

Anyways, Darcy was currently enjoying a sip of the delicious, red alcoholic drink when she spitted it out all over the place. Jane looked up in shock, face dripping wet.

“Darcy? God what is the –”

But Darcy ignored her friend, got up and raised the volume to its maximum capacity. She froze. Jane quickly reached her.

“Hey, Darce, what’s wrong?”

Darcy pointed a finger to the low-quality picture of a devilish-looking man, with a golden helmet on.

“That’s Dude, Jane.”

“What?”

Turning to face her friend, Darcy repeated each word carefully:

“That’s Dude.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regarding Loki's eyes...  
> Well, I just followed through with the idea that his eyes were naturally green (as seen in Thor), but changed to blue due to the whole thing going on with Thanos, the Chitauri, and his scepter. It's basically the first sign that something is going on. I do realized I kept everything kinda unexplained, but let's not forget that Darcy, at that point, doesn't even know who "Dude" is.  
> Hope this little explanation helped :)
> 
> ***
> 
> Well, there, it's done.  
> Stay tuned for PART 2, coming soon! I'm still planning it, but it shouldn't be too long before I post it here.   
> Thanks for reading this fic, everyone, I hope you enjoyed it :)


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